The Tape
frame The Tape is an indie horror game published by Kazakov Oleg and released on Steam on November 19, 2015. Setting The game takes place after October 22 in Norfolk, Virginia in an undisclosed year. Because of the apparent ease-of-use of cellular phones it likely takes place sometime after the late 1990s. Synopsis The Tape is a first person horror game with found footage stylization, slow pace, and creepy atmosphere. The game relies mostly on creating heavy atmosphere instead of a cheap jump scares. The game tells story of middle-aged detective who is tasked with search of a young girl, missing in US suburbia. He travels to abandoned house to check some of his clues and reveals things so horrifying, that it make him question his own sanity. Features *Explore dark and terrifying mystery of missing girl. *Face horrible creatures and enemies. *Uncover the truth or at least try to escape. Reception Kazakov Oleg himself describes the game as, "some of the scenes you are witnessing in this game are the most disturbing in horror game history" on the Steam store page, though this is easily debunked. The game has received Mixed reception from the Steam community as of July 1, 2019. Walkthrough Level 1: The Cabin in the Woods thumb|350px|The Cabin in the Woods. The game starts out in a forested area outside your car where you, as the unnamed protagonist, must walk forward and enter the dilapidated cabin in front of you. While you can explore the rooms, there is nothing of note in them with the exception of two, and one of which is locked (Note: Doors open automatically and you do not have to do anything but walk up to them to go through). thumb|left|350px|Anachronism Stew?: While ancient, 19th century photographs hang on the walls, a modern ceiling fan is attached to the ceiling. Curiouser and curioser.Head upstairs and to the left into the only room you can see up here. This leads into another room to the right where you will find a key on the desk in the back. Stand next to it and your character will pick it up (Note: Hit detection in this game for item pick up is not great and you may have to maneuver around a little before your character actually picks up the item.) Next, head back downstairs and walk to your right and into the dining room area. Against the wall you just entered to your right as you enter is the locked door. Open this with the key you have just obtained and you will find a cellar door. Walk up to this cellar door and you will lock on to the ladder that leads down. Head down into the next area, the catacombs where the cultists actually appear to reside, known as the dungeons of terror. Level 2: The Dungeons of Terror thumb|350px|Several desks and bookcases are the first thing you'll encounter coming down here. This is likely the cultists' study room when they are not busy killing. The level begins with a cutscene, revealing that the girl you have come to look for has just been sacrificed by the cultists and bled dry. Follow the stairway down until you come across a deep chasm where you walk along a small bridge; here you can watch two cultists walk along a lower bridge, giving you a hint of what's just around the corner. Continue into the next room. Your goal in here is to slip past the cultists patrolling the area — there are at least 4: One patrols the perimeter, one walks down the right hallway and back again, and two walk down the left hallway and back again. There are open prison cells you can enter but these are more burden than their worth as you are then blind to figure out where the cultists are and must risk exposing yourself to check for them. Instead there is a much easier strategy you can employ. Upon entering the area, stand at the entrance with the multiple pillars in front of you and simply wait for the perimeter-walking cultist to move past. thumb|350px|The halls in the Dungeons of Terror where the cultists patrol.They do not have peripheral vision and he cannot detect you. Follow a few feet behind this character. Once he ducks down the middle passage, follow him but wait at its end when he turns to head back towards the front of the area. Instead wait here for the next cultist to pass you by, who also shouldn't notice you. Once he has moved a few feet away, proceed into the area he just came from and continue through. This will lead to another similar hallway of cells. Continue on ahead into the next room, where you will see a lit up room with what appears to be a ritual sacrifice podium. Before your character can enter this room, he is surprised and accosted by the Second Cultist. The game immediately fades to black and the next cutscene starts. You get to watch as a ritual is performed on you while the head cultist, Goat Skull watches from his throne-like seat. Your body contorts into painful positions and your eyes roll back into your head and go black. You wake up back in the dungeon cells with the first and second cultist standing over you. You black out for a second and awake again to the second cultist holding a bowl for you. Presumably you drink it; it is a safe assumption that this is the girl's blood from earlier. The game then cuts to the third level, the labyrinth. Level 3: The Labyrinth thumb|350px|The [[Demon Girl (The Tape)|Demon Girl emerges.]] You reawaken but this time you find yourself in an empty white room. Open the door and head down the unnatural staircase and into a bedroom that looks to be in the dilapidated cabin. All the doors are locked at this time; you instead must sit and wait for the bed in the center of the room to begin spurting blood while the Demon Girl emerges. She then disappears and the doors unlock. Your goal in this area is first to switch the room to the "Demon Version" and then collect three holy items and escape to the light, all while avoiding the Demon Girl as she explores the area (Note: There is a glitch where she will stay in one room instead of traveling around. This may either come as a help or a hindrance to you.) The easiest and fastest way to do this is to first enter the door to your right. Head to the end of this hallway and take a left (the right will only lead to a dead end.) In this circular room you will see a standing mirror in the middle of the room, currently facing away from you. Walk around and look through it and you will suddenly see several bandaged figures, the paintings will have changed to horrific moving scenes, and the walls will start to bleed. At this point the Demon Girl can kill you and will be searching for you (Note: The bandaged figures cannot harm you, so you do not have to worry about them at all.) Luckily she occasionally shrieks, which lets you know the general area she is in. thumb|left|350px|Upon looking through the mirror, several things begin to occur, such as agonized, mummified people roaming the halls, pictures becoming actively gruesome scenery, and the walls bleeding. This is the point where you can collect the three items, all three of which will be laying on small tables in circular rooms such as this one; in fact, the first is in a room very close by. To get there, travel through the door that was initially on your right which will lead to a short, curved hallway. At the end of this hall is another circular room, with a table in the corner directly across from you. Move over to the table and pick up the picture (Item #2), presumably of the girl you are came here to find. Item collection detection is still poor and it may take a couple seconds for your character to pick the item up but once he does, the item will not disappear from the level but instead one of the three white boxes at the top of your screen will "check off" by being lit up by a white flame. From here, return to the mirror room and head through the other door. This area is the true "labyrinth" of the level, with most rooms leading into each other. Despite its daunting appearance it is fairly easy to traverse through once you know where you are going. Head right down the first hall you encounter and then duck into the alcove to the left and open this door. In this room is the crucifix (Item #1.) Head back out and to the entrance to the mirror room again but this time turn back around and head down the long hallway instead. This leads directly into another circular room with the bible on its table (Item #3.) With all three items collected you can now view a light source emanating from somewhere in the complex — this is your means of escaping the level. To arrive here, continue through the room you are now in through the doorway on the other side of the room from where you entered it and you will be in another curved hallway. This one leads back to the bedroom. Walk across the room and enter the room you originally stepped through and back into the hallway that leads to the mirror room. However instead of continuing to the end of the hall as you had done before, now you can enter the room on the right about halfway down the corridor. This is the exit. Follow through the two rooms and enter the door at the end of them and walk into the light, leading to the penultimate level, Dark Waters. Level 4: Dark Waters This can easily be the most frustrating part of the game. You find yourself in a pitch black environment with a glowing light above your head, barely illuminating the water around it. Move under it and look around to see three more light orbs in the distance. Travel to them in turn and once you reach the third one a timer will begin counting down, giving you 4 minutes. At this point you must avoid the now-giant head of the Demon Girl which chases you like a ravenous shark through the Dark Waters. Your only hope of escape is to lead her into these glowing orbs which will cause her to give up the chase for a few precious seconds. This is harder than it sounds however, as you not only cannot easily tell where she is coming from but some of the lights move on their own accord while others are actually two high up for her to make physical contact with. Not only this but if you don't reach a light in time, she may grab it and drag it under the water with her or it may travel back up to the ceiling where it is of no help to you. Once the timer has counted down a large white orb will appear that you must enter to exit the area and bring you to the final level, the forest. Level 5: Forest Your character wakes up in an open, unmarked grave. They quickly pull themselves out and realize that they can either try and find answers to their questions or just run for the exit immediately. They are then beset upon by cultists chasing after them. Whichever path the character takes determines the game's ending: Running towards the Answers objective leads to a shack where a note can be found that tells a little more about what is going on; however upon leaving the shack, the Demon Girl appears and you presumably perish. Running towards the exit yields similar results. Answers Ending Text You wanted answers? You'll get them, worm but everything has it's price There is no girl now There is only us Born from pain and suffering washed by blood blessed by Lord of Darkness We will swallow your soul and every other soul we meet on our way Enjoy last minutes of your life because soon all that you will ever feel will be eternal agony Now look behind you Ending text This was the last thing detective saw before his death. Police continued searching but girl was never found. After some time people started mysteriously disappearing in this area. Some people say there was a demon attacking people. Nobody can't say for sure what horrifying things could happen in the future. Bonus Levels The game has three bonus levels that you can play. Each of them play differently from the regular game. Two play similar to other popular horror franchises and the final one is simply a longer survival version of the Dark Waters level. Forest Dungeons of Terror Dark Waters Category:The Tape Category:PC Games Category:Steam Games Category:2010's-2020's Games Category:Survival Horror Games Category:First Person Games Category:Games by Kazakov Oleg